I LOVE Daylight Savings Time.  I know mornings are tough but I love the fact that last night we were watching the sunset at 7:50 pm.  We are evening people in our house.  Between 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm we eat dinner, which is later than most families.  My children, even before they were a tween and a teen, were not morning children.  We had to wake them up on Christmas and Easter because they were still sleeping at 9:00 am and we could not wait any longer for them!

So the sunny days and the longer days have clearly improved the mood around our house.  I am thankful for Daylight Savings Time!

I was searching for something to make for dinner the other night when I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest for Classic Clam Chowder from Picture Perfect Meals.com.  My entire family loves clam chowder and I had all the ingredients on hand since this recipe had canned clams.  The recipe looked fairly simple and I had a huge loaf of Italian Bread to make my Oh My Goodness Garlic Bread to go with it.

Verdict:

Everyone at the table loved the flavor of the chowder.  The chowder was delicious.  Not to heavy on the clams or the wine and there were plenty of potato chunks and broth.  That is where we were divided.  My son and I tend to like our chowder thicker and not so much like a stew which is what this came out to be. My daughter and my other half prefer the slightly thinner version like this chowder.

Now, I followed the original recipe EXACTLY.  I think where the mistake was for me was when I drained the clams I had 2 cups more clam juice.  I think 8 cups of liquid was too much.  Next time I will cut down on the liquid and possibly only add one cup of the reserved juice or even none of it just to see how thick it gets.

This recipe did get hands up around the table as a repeat.  The flavor was perfect it is all in how thick you like your chowder.

I served this with my Oh My Goodness Garlic Bread for dunking.  Now when you read this recipe you will think that can’t be right.  It is.  I use almost 1 cup of butter on the bread and loads of powdered garlic.  The bread is crunchy, garlicy and Oh My Buttery Goodness!  This is not a health food.

Ingredients:

Chowder:

• 4 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams in clam juice
• 4 thick-cut slices bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• salt and pepper
• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed to 1/2″
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups bottled clam juice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk

Garlic Bread:

• 1 large loaf Italian Bread
• 3/4 cup of butter, softened
• garlic powder

Directions:

Chowder:

1. Drain the clams, reserving the juice.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve for garnish, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the onion, lightly season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the potatoes, celery and garlic and to the softened onions stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
4. Add white wine, bay leaves and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the liquid is almost completely reduced. You will see just a little bit of moisture in the bottom of the pan.
5. Add in all the clam juice and stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring several times, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
6. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute. Ladle in a cup of the hot broth, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture to the soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
7. Add in the clams, cream and milk and cook until the mixture is heated through.  This will take just a couple of minutes.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaves. Serve with crumbled bacon or croutons as garnish if desired.

Garlic Bread:

1. Cut loaf of bread horizontally into two large pieces.  Then cut vertically so that you have 4 slices of roughly the same size.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Place bread cut side up on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Spread 1/4 of the butter on each piece of bread.  Cover it well.
5. Sprinkle garlic powder over each slice according to taste.  I use approximately 2 – 3 tsp. per slice but your family may like more or less.
6. Bake until top is slightly browning around the edges.  Allow to sit 2-3 minutes before slicing.